May Williamson: The Non-Celtic Place-Names of the Scottish Border ...

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Wittusme, 1214-49 LSMM; Whytesum, 1296 RS; /69/ Whytehosme, c 1300, Cold; Quitusum,
1300 CDS; Whitousom, 1336-7 ib. OE (æt þm) hwīta(n)/hwītum hūsum, “at the white
houses”. For a similar construction with OE hūs in the dative plural compare Newsham Nb
and N~ Du, which represent OE (æt þæm) nīwa(n) hūsum. The forms for Whitsome suggest
ME hwite husum from ONb hwīta hūsum.
DUMFRIESSHIRE
BROOMHOUSE (Dmf):
Brunnhouse, Blaeu. This may be the same as Broomhouse (Edr), but it is possible that the
first element in this case is ON brunnr “a spring”.
HILLHOUSE (Wam): Hil house, 1578 HMC (Jhn). “House on, or by, a hill”.
HOLEHOUSE (Can): (89, 9 C):
Holehouse, 1463-4 RMS; the Holhous, 1544 HMC (Drml); Hollus, 1583 CBP; Hoilhous,
1590 RPC; Hollowes, 1596 CBP. OE hol hūs, “house in, or by, a hole” is most probable.
There are two other examples of the name in Dmf, one in Kkm and one in Drd.
MOORHOUSE (KJ):
Morhouses, 1304 CDS; Murhouse, 1529 RMS. “House on the moor”. OE mōr, MSc muir, in
an anglicised form. The Scots spelling is preserved in /70/ the modern form of –
MUIRHOUSE (Dor):
Morhuses, post 1275 HMC (Drml); Murhous, 1505 RMS.
STENHOUSE (Tyn):
Stanehous, 1637 Reg Sas Dmf; Stenhous ib. OE stān-hūs, “stone house”, becomes MSc
stainhous. This is not necessarily from ON steinn.
“Lost” names:-
Bekhouse, 1484 RMS, in Dmf. “House by the beck or stream”.
Bouhouse, Blaeu (Dmf, S. of Holehouse). OE bū-hūs, “dwelling house”: cf Bowerhouse.
Firthhouse, Blaeu (Rxb, S. of Edgerston). OE fyrhð, “woodland”.
There are twenty-eight other names ending in -house.
/70(a)/ XVIII OE Lēah,
“clearing in woodland, glade”, sometimes also “wood”, occurs most frequently in English
counties which are known to have been at one time thickly wooded (IPN ii, 45). Later the
meaning came to be “grassland, pasture, open country, or arable land”, when the terminal was
suffixed to elements requiring a specialised sense (DEPN, 278).
In a Dryburgh Charter of c 1160, Colmslie is described as a planities, a term evidently to be
distinguished from silva, which occurs in the same Charter. Mr R P Hardie made a note on
this: